Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 59: Ch.58 Strigidae Priest

From the street outside the junkyard, they retraced their route back to the lowest level of the lab. Now they had reached the bottom floor where countless biochemical bombs were stored.

There was only simple lighting here, and black mold grew on the surrounding walls. The damp air was filled with a scent reminiscent of disinfectant. Thick pipes extended from the ceiling, running along the corridor in all directions like dark veins, occasionally emitting puffs of pale yellow steam.

Su Ming raised his dual pistols, scanning the area for signs of the cat, but apart from the sound of dripping water and hissing steam, there was no other noise.

"Where did you find Falcone and his daughter?"

"Over there, let's go."

The Speed Force activated, and in an instant, Barry and Su Ming appeared in a steel-enclosed room filled with various instruments. A white cat sat on the control panel, lazily flicking its tail, just like an ordinary house cat watching cartoons from a sofa.

Its furry ears twitched, and it pressed a button.

Next, its head twisted 180 degrees like an owl, adopting a grotesque posture as it stared at the two of them. A creepy smile spread across its feline face.

A long, black tongue licked its sharp fangs as it spoke in a piercing human voice.

"All roads lead to darkness! All will return to Barbatos!"

"Fxxk!"

Su Ming immediately fired his guns, while Barry was too stunned by the talking cat to stop its actions.

The cat leaped off the control panel, a pitch-black disc-shaped energy shield appearing around it. Su Ming's bullets vanished into it like pebbles sinking into a bottomless abyss.

"Keekeekee..."

The cat cackled as it rushed towards them, the dark energy around its body writhing like living tendrils. It spread and extended in the air, a terrifying power visible to the naked eye.

Darker than darkness itself, colder than annihilation, this ominous aura devoured all light around it.

"Barry! Lend me some speed!"

Su Ming drew his sword, and Barry, snapping back to reality, patted Su Ming on the shoulder, enveloping the black-and-yellow armor in a golden glow of lightning.

The Speed Force couldn't remain in a normal person's body for long unless complicated scientific procedures were undertaken. Su Ming could only temporarily harbor it. As he used it, and as time passed, the Speed Force would quickly dissipate.

But he only needed it for a brief moment. If he could move faster than the cat's neural impulses, then the dark energy shield wouldn't be able to block him. The memories that kept flooding his mind taught him many things — memories that belonged to Slade.

The fastest human neural transmissions still relied on bioelectricity to relay information, with a maximum speed of 193 kilometers per second, the limit of human thought.

The Flash's speed limit was said to be 30 million kilometers per second. Because of the Speed Force, he could think as if time itself had stopped.

Su Ming didn't know if that claim was true, because exceeding the speed of light — 299,000 kilometers per second — would theoretically cause time to reverse, triggering a Flashpoint event.

But he didn't need to go that fast. He only needed to borrow the Speed Force for a single slash. As a cyborg, his cognitive speed was nine times faster than a normal human's, easily surpassing that of any feline.

With lightning trailing his blade, he swung it down towards the white cat's head.

In the frozen world around him, this slash was a perfect blend of speed and precision, aimed straight at the brain, neck, and heart in a single line. If it hit, not just a cat but even a lion or tiger would be dead.

Yet the slash left only a faint white mark on the cat's forehead.

Beneath his mask, Su Ming frowned, understanding what had happened.

As a creation of darkness, this cat was no longer just a cat. It was a dark creature, and his weapon, which lacked Nth metal, was ineffective against such beings.

But if blades and bullets didn't work, Deathstroke still had his fists. His armor was entirely made of promethium, and it contained traces of Nth metal. His yellow and black forearm guards and gloves could be used as weapons themselves.

His sword hadn't been deflected yet, but with his empty left hand, he delivered a powerful punch to the same spot. The white cat spun through the air like a discarded white plastic bag full of trash.

In a flash of lightning, Su Ming swiftly closed the distance, his fists raining down on the creature's head. His blows were so forceful that even the steel floor beneath began to warp, and the dark creature was beaten into a small crater on the ground.

But the Speed Force was rapidly fading, and his punches were no longer as fast. Although he was still overwhelming the creature, the white cat continued to cackle.

"Cackacka! For Barbatos!"

Boom!

A burst of black smoke erupted from the creature's small body, blasting Su Ming away. Dark energy corroded every inch of his armor, emitting a faint hissing sound.

The creature had self-destructed, scattering black entrails everywhere, its dark energy coating the area. Barry, who had stayed by the door, managed to avoid it, but Su Ming felt something was wrong.

The physical injuries weren't a big deal. The Icon Suit resisted magical damage, and the muscle strains and bone fractures from the explosion would heal quickly. But the accelerated work of his healing factor made his rationality waver, and a flood of memories overwhelmed him.

He believed himself to be Slade; these memories were too vivid. In comparison, the memories of his life as Su Ming seemed monotonous and repetitive, almost fake.

"Hah... hah..." He took several deep breaths, struggling to focus. The matter at hand wasn't resolved yet; he couldn't lose his mind.

"Slade, how are you holding up?" Barry rushed over, supporting him.

"Hah... I'm fine. But next time, let's plan a bit more before facing a Strigidae... Go check out what that creature activated earlier." Su Ming pushed Barry away, leaning against the control panel, trying to calm his mind.

But it felt like trying to calm the waves of the ocean. He could only ensure that his sanity didn't capsize. The headache made his ears ring constantly.

"Got it, be right back!"

Barry dashed out of the room. He felt the ground tremble, something big was happening here.

Lightning wrapped around him as he scanned in all directions. Finally, he found a massive underground cavity in one direction. The covering above it had been removed, and rainwater was pouring straight into the underground chamber.

Looking up, he saw a bright flame flashing in the night sky. The creature had indeed launched the toxin-loaded rocket.

Once it reached the clouds, it would explode, releasing the toxic payload like artificial rain, thoroughly "purifying" Gotham. The hot air and smoke filling the launch silo told him he was a step too late.

But Barry was a superhero; situations like this wouldn't make the Flash give up. He looked around but didn't find any suitable tools. His gaze fell on the smooth interior wall of the launch silo.

Barry jumped and began running along the inner wall of the launch silo, building up speed. Lightning completely enveloped him as he reconnected with the Speed Force. As his speed increased with each circuit, he abruptly changed his stride, sprinting straight up, racing towards the sky through the falling rain!

The launch silo ejected him as well.

In almost an instant, he caught up to the rocket in the sky. Using his incredible speed, he began pounding on the rocket's shell with his Speed Force-imbued fists, tearing it open.

Even stone would succumb to water if it dripped on the same spot tens of thousands of times. Lacking the right tools, he could only resort to this laborious method.

Finally, he pried the shell open, revealing a container of green liquid.

This was super sarin toxin.

The Roman's rocket carried just a fraction of the lab's supply. He merely intended to purify Gotham, not destroy the world. Yet, even this small canister was wider than Barry's waist.

The Strigidae Priest's goal was to make a big splash. As long as they made an impact, the Strigidae could report their success to their dark god, hoping to pique his interest in their world.

Barbatos had once promised that if he conquered a world, its Strigidae Priests would be granted direct rule, second only to him.

The Strigidae believed that a world war would be the best outcome, so they decided to give it a try. If the chaos was significant enough, it would surely catch Barbatos' attention, and the priests would become beings of unrivaled status.

But that was just a lie. The Strigidae Priests of the main world had done the same, but before they could even glimpse their god's robes, they were all slaughtered and fed to the Robin Hounds.

Luckily, due to the cat's status as a feline, its influence was limited. Despite the magic making him somewhat insane, Falcone, a seasoned mob boss, retained enough rationality not to load the rocket with enough toxin to start a world war.

After they were captured, the feline priest continued its plan alone since its helpers were gone.

However, due to its size, it couldn't replace the warhead. It had been pondering the issue, but by the time Su Ming and Barry arrived, it still hadn't found a solution and had to launch the rocket as it was.

In the howling wind, Barry clung to the speeding rocket, the rushing wind screaming in

his ears. Through the opened hatch, he could see the green sludge glowing ominously in the rain, its surface rippling with the rocket's vibrations, as if eagerly awaiting to seep into people's bodies.